Tuesday, March 27, 2012

South America - part 11/17 - Puno + Arequipa Peru

3/22. Thursday. Overcast. 1 hour behind. Puno, Peru.

Arrived at the Bolivian border 15 minutes out of town. Quick. Walked to Peru side. The immigration office is just one building among dozens of stores. Also quick here. Changed all my Bolivianos to Soles next to the police station. S1=B2.7. Not good, slightly better than Copacabana. Somehow the Israelis' luggage was inspected.

At Puno's bus terminal bought 2 tours from a persuasive sales woman at Tollasuyo office: S30 for Sillustani, S45 for a full day floating islands tour. She also booked me a taxi S4 and a hotel S25. Probably I'm overpaying all of these. I guess I'm tired of constantly need to arrange lodging and transportation. I don't like the room: it felt cold. But stuck with it, because of the location: close to everything. Originally I only planned to stay one night and catch an evening bus to Arequipa. However, arriving at 4-5am is not appealing (my 3:30 arrival at Potosi left me a wound). After consulting 3 agencies, I bought a package: Puno - Colca Canyon - Arequipa for S160, staying at Chivay for one night. No time for trekking (needs 2 more days, alas). Also bought a cama ticket from Arequipa to Lima for S143 at Cruz del Sur's office, the most reputable bus company in Peru. Cambio today was $1=S2.67.

Sillustani tour started on a negative note. Hotel pick up means a girl came to fetch me and both of us walked to a plaza and waited, then waited at the other side for awhile. Once all passengers on board, we picked up the guide. He's good. We stopped on the road out of the city to take a picture of Puno. Puno is quite big, looks like a small La Paz: houses covering the hills. 40 minutes drive to Sillustani. It's on Umayo peninsula in lake Umayo. A nice setting for the dead. This was a royal cemetery during Qolla (1100-1450) and Inca times, and probably earlier. There are funeral towers (chullpa), where bodies were laid in fetal position. Some older burial sites are just a small hole. Later, towers. The Incas built bigger towers with large, perfectly fit rocks, some stones have crude carving. Each tower has a small opening facing east on the ground. Workers nowadays are reconstructing broken or fallen towers. There are also terraces of pre-inca time, called patapata. Our guide said that the word potata came from patapata. I bought a scarf (S10) because I was cold. It was a mistake not have brought my fleece. The temperature was maybe 15°, under the sun, it's warm, but chilly in the shade or with a bit of wind.

On the way back, visited one family, who has llama and alpaca. We were shown the inside of houses, food staples (clay is one of them) bottles of alcohol with little snakes inside, 2 plants, a small barn for the guinea pigs, which is also adorned with 2 toy bulls, like on top of every house. Then we were encouraged to buy things from them, or leave some coins.

A funny note. I didn't have enough time for lunch. So after my soup, I asked to go for my secondo. This came to 2 little plastic bags (1 for beef and egg, 1 for rice) in another plastic bag with handles, no plastic utensil, no napkin. All for S4. My first time ever eating cooked food in plastic bags with no spoon or fork. I managed to chow down a better half of this takeout in the bus. As soon as we arrived at Sillustani parking lot, a black dog with a broken right front leg smelled my lunch and limped after me. I tossed my leftover to a trash bin, but he kept on following me up to the ruins. When we returned, he continued following me until the bus.

Back in town, ate, bought some fruit for tomorrow. Price here is slightly higher than in Bolivia.

3/23. Friday. Sunny. Lake Titicaca.
6:50 pick up. Same girl came and fetched me. We waited at Plaza de Armes. A bigger bus. Some wait around. At the port, I and 2 others were assigned to a different boat (by Inka Tours), who's spewing black scalar.

Uros Islands are very close to Puno, about 30 minute by slow boat. All boats seem to be equipped with life jacket and has bus like seats, unlike in Copacabana which were bolted classroom like chairs and no life jacket. Shallow, lots of weed, some ground is above water. ~40-50 islands next to each other. The first one we landed has 6 families, all related. ~24 people. They showed us how the islands are built: 1m of reed root (very light), another meter of reeds layered crisscross. On 4 corners, big stone are thrown to the bottom (~18m deep) to anchor the island. Fresh weeds are added on constantly, while the bottom reeds are rotten and fed to cows (? I didn't see a single cow or cattle here, but quite a few pigs). Fish they caught, ducks + eggs they hunt, and other food they bartered on Sundays in the market of Acora. We were allowed to sit inside a house or another. The lady of the house answered questions, then showed us her handy works for sale. We were also invited to ride in a reed boat for S10, but it was not big enough for all of us. On departure, the ladies on the island gathered by the boat and sang songs. 2nd island is bigger, has 3 fish ponds, a school, a church, a cafe, a store, a phone, and a guesthouse area. Overall, the visit of the floating islands is fun, if not too commercialized. The green reeds all around makes this stop very scenic.

Taquille Island (named after its conquistador) is more in the Titicaca (means puma stone in Aymaran) Lake, outside of the Puno Bay, which is shallow and dirty. The lake's deepest part is ~315m near the Sun Island. A long slow ride. We reached the island ~11:40. Walked up to the main plaza along a spring, next to terraced fields of potato, quinoa, fava beans, orca. I'm one of the slowest, seems couldn't get acclimatized, even though I've been at this altitude for 10 days. There is a colonial church and some remnant of old gates. The municipal building was still being worked on. Lots of kids. Boys wear black trousers, white shirt and a very short black vest. Those wear red hat are married, half red and half white means single. Girls all wear light top and brightly solid colored multi-layer skirts. Women wear black shawls. The married ones wear bigger bonbons at the end of their long pigtail. Then we went to an old guy's house for lunch, quite a bit of walk from the plaza. A fine but unnecessary walk, given so many eating options close to the square. No view in his house. Veggie soup, bread, choice of trout (S20) and omelette (S15), tea. Coke S4, beer S6. A young dude sang for tip. On the way down, saw 2 cows, some sheep, no donkeys. ~2:15pm we departed from a different port. Arrived at Puno harbor ~5pm. Had to wait for awhile for Inka Tour's bus to pick us up. I found this island redundant. Having visited the Sun Island, all these islands can be skipped.

Overall a relaxing day. Oh, this trip should cost S35 if not less. I actually managed to get S10 back from their office, after some persistent. I guess my broken Spanish isn't too bad, after all.

No one here accepted my US$10 bill which came from the bank in Coroico, Bolivia. They like crisp new bills. Visited iPeru, I highly recommend it. The girl I asked not only gave me maps, but also called 2 other iPeru offices to ask for detailed information for me, and then wrote down for me. My dinner today was the cheapest: S3. A big soup with small pieces of beef and French fry, chicharron chicken with lettuce and a slice of tomato as second, tea.

3/24 Saturday. Sunny - overcast. Chivay.
6:30 pickup. Turismo Sillustani. A minibus with reclining seats and overhead storage. Only 11 passengers. A young Alberta family with 3 noisy kids, their Peruvian grandma and her aging husband. 2 Russian women with their translator. We were given candy and cracker, a 625ml bottle water. Before 9:00 stopped at Lagunillas lookout. Stalls selling the same sweaters, a toilet with no water. It's a very pretty lake, 2nd biggest in Peru, ~2-300m higher than Titicaca, but no any agriculture or houses that I could see. I was told there's a small town by the lake.

As we continued, elevation got higher, land is more sandy and dry. Herds of alpacas, distant snow capped mountains. The town of Imata is over 4000m in elevation. ~10:00, we stopped in a stone forest. Quite nice.

Patahuasi national reserve. Some vicunas. There is a stop all buses parked, toilet, a cafe (S3 tea), and the ubiquitous souvenir stalls.

~noon, last stop at Patapampa @4910m, the highest point on today's road. A parking area, same souvenir stalls. Good view of surrounding volcanos. Lots of cairns. After that, it was zigzag all the way down.

30 min later, at the edge of Chivay, paid S70 (local S20, kids S5). Chivay sits in the green valley of Colca. But the town is a bit dusty. Local ladies wear fancy embroiled dresses and hats. One flower on the hat means single. Flowers on both left and right sides means married. Dropped the Russians and their guide at a restaurant. The big family and me were unloaded at Hostal Urpi, half a block from the main square. The spoiled kids were horrified by the word hostel. Private bath, towel, breakfast, clean, decent toilet paper, no Internet, a bit cold. Posted price: S30/40 single/double. Lots of hostels near the plaza. A closed church. Saw our bus loading a new group heading back to Puno. Had lunch not far from home: S5 for a big soup + alpaca cutlet with beans and salad + some dubious fruit drink at the end.

I'm glad that I took this morning tour from Puno to Chivay, instead of an evening bus (~S25). This leg can be bought in Puno for S65 or less.

4pm, pickup to La Calera hot spring 10-15 minutes east of town in a nice green river valley. Hot volcanic water is channeled to 2 outdoor pools (#1) and 3 small indoor pool. I mostly stayed in #5. Water temperature 39° nice to soak, too warm to swim. Quite some people to make swimming difficult. They gave me a key to a locker. All lockers are brightly painted with animals. There ate change rooms and shower rooms. Water of the showers run non stop, same sulfur water. I brought the hotel towel. There are massage rooms and cafe on site, and more stores at the parking lot. Entrance is S15. Kids free. Had to quick when getting out of the water: air temperature is a bit chilly. Still, quite a relaxing hour. My ticket informs: maximum water temperature 85°, chemistry S=40%, Ca=20%, Zn=18%, Fe=12%, Salt=8%. The bus picked us up at 5:10. We were told that there would be a show tonight at 7:30, and it's included in the package. Bonus news. Enough time to shower and dinner until then. Also bought some bread and fruit for tomorrow. Rained briefly. On the way home, there was a mass at the church. Less then 10 participants. The inside of the church isn't interesting, painted side walls, unadorned ceiling.

8pm pena show started. It's a restaurant, so you are encouraged to eat here. Set dinner S20, including alpaca meat. Good portion. 5 male singers/players + 1 little boy. Every once awhile, 2 girl 2 boy dancers came out wearing costumes representing different regions. Sometimes they invite tourists to dance with them. The last dance involved grabbing a fruit from the partner or beat him/her. The singers sell their CDs for $20, they and the dancers ask for tips separately.

3/25 Sunday. Sunny with clouds - rain. Colca Canyon.
5:45 breakfast. 6:30 depart with all luggage, even though we were coming back here for lunch. Bus was late, then we had to pick up another group in a restaurant. We didn't start even at 7:00.

First stop: Yanque. The white Franciscan church is very pretty. Inside so so. A mass was in process. As soon as a bus pulls over at the plaza, a group of women in their fine embroiled dress lined up with their eagles Anna alpacas. Ladies in white hats are Collawas (came from the highlands of Puno or Bolivia), multicolor hats are Cabanas (came from Peru lowland).

2nd stop Maca. White church with gilded alters and white walls inside.

Cruz de Condor at 8:40. Within 30 minutes, a condor cruised by for a couple of minutes. That's also the last we saw. Here is not the deepest section of the canyon. Can see the river at the bottom. Not deep at all. Green, some small waterfalls, cacti, yellow and blue flowers. Quite pretty. In fact, the whole valley is very pretty. But the gravel road is very dusty, and sometimes blocked by cattle or donkey. Our bus picked 8 more passengers. We left at 10;05.

On the way back to Chivay, stopped at Wuayra-Punco lookout at Pinchollo, and Antahuilque, where the canyon starts. Lots of terraces. The terraced fields are everywhere.

This bus stopped again at Maca for the 8 new passenger. Then stopped at the same hot spring for an hour. I guess we were sold to a different tour that makes the same stops. At 1pm, the bus pulled to a restaurant for lunch. I walked to the plaza area to eat. S4.5: a big soup, alpaca steak with potato pure, a fruity drink. A busy place, had to share a table with a dad and daughter. I had plenty time to walk back to the group who was still eating. Next door is a gas station, where I used its toilet. It started to rain. By the time we. Arrived at Patapampa, it was hailing. No one wanted to get out of the bus.

Note, in Chivay, carne means alpaca meat, unless otherwise specified. It tastes like beef. leaner.

Arrived at Arequipa's main plaza at 5:20pm. Much warmer. Saw a Starbucks. Stayed half block from the main square: S40 ensuite.

3/26 Monday. Overcast - rain. Arequipa.
Arequipa is big, has the ubiquitous problem of trash and car exhaust. It's historical center is compact and beautiful, especially the main square. Many fine buildings. I got some cash from HSBC's ATM, with no surcharge. Most ATMs here charge S12, and they are very common. Cambios have good exchange rate for $. Many Chinese fast food joints run by locals. I bought sunscreen (expensive) and some drug (cheap). Visited San August church. Others are closed, even the cathedral.

Monastery of Santa Catalina occupies a large city block. Founded in 1579. ~30 women at times from teenagers to old women (until their death) lived here. Each had her own apartment with a little yard and baking oven. Even though sparsely furnished, I wouldn't mind live here. Red or blue walls (adobe), a garden, lots of flowers. Looks very picturesque.
Praying areas, chapels are in stone. Many paintings. Totally a different world, sheltered from the traffic and noise from outside.

Bought some grocery for Easter Island (no fresh food). By the time I exit the store, it was pouring. Got cold too. Waited for the rain to stop, shared my bananas with 2 people sitting next to me in front of the door of the municipal building. Taxi to terminal: S5, even though I was told 4 was enough. It was not close. Well worth the S5, since my backpack was much heavier with the extra food.

Changed my 10pm night bus to Lima to 7:30. Didn't need to buy ticket earlier. Same day tickets are 10% off. I paid S143 for a cama seat. Not much cheaper than flying. Terminal departure tax S2 for out of department destinations. Cruz del Sur has it's own departure lounge with a bar, toilet, wifi, comfy seats. Luggage is checked in before getting into the departure lounge. A guy came up to the bus and took pictures of us. Security measure? The bus has a toilet on each level. It's also GPS monitored. Wifi doesn't work. Bus beeps whenever it's above 90km/hr. AC was turned off some time at night, I woke up in sweat.

3/27 Tuesday. Lima airport.
Woke up in coastal desert. Some got off at Paracas. Sand, but fruit orchard, don't know where the water is. Most coastal land we passed through is desert. Arrived at Lima almost noon. Very warm. Long distance bus companies each has its own terminal. I walked to 2 other terminals half a block away inquiring bus to Huaraz, but neither goes. Went to the airport in a taxi: S45. Things are expensive here. Airport luggage shrink wrap is S35. Lots of ATM by GlobalNet. Wifi, none free. LCPeru flies to Huaraz, for $150. The guy told me online or telephone has better price. Found (only) one outlet outside the toilet, sorted my Bolivia photos. Bought a baked chicken sandwich (S9.5) at the food court. Decent portion.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

South America - part 10/17 - Bolivia

Summery 2012/3/11-22:
1. Bolivia is a small country with every kind of landscape, except ocean (which was occupied by Chile). Beautiful, cheap (except for beer), friendly.
2. Uyuni salt flat is a must. But my favorites are: Lago Colorado, rooftop of San Felipe de Nery in Sucre. What I'd like to visit in the future is Noel Kempff Mercado park east of Santa Cruz (expensive, and not sure if it can live up to its reputation of out-worldness) and maybe a jungle tour in Madidi park out of Rurrenabaque (not sure if it's better than in Peru/Ecuador/Brazil).
3. Bolivia is the dirties country on this trip: people toss trash everywhere; many vehicles emits deadly exhaust. So avoid big cities!
5. My favorite town is Copacabana. Small, beautiful setting, pleasantly cool climate yet sunny.

3/11-13 Uyuni Salar Tour
3/11 Sunday. Cloudy - snow.
Waiting for the 7:40 pick up for Uyuni salt flats tour by Atacama Mystica - recommended by the receptionist, one of the many who peddle the same itinerary. Total 11 people today, so 2 Toyota Landcruisers. I was lucky to sit in the jeep of 51.

Chilean border control is just outside of the town. Finished by 8:30. We were offered apple juice and chocolate cookies. 50 minutes to Bolivian border control, I'm the only one didn't get an entry stamp here. Need to buy a $135 visa in Uyuni. Now waiting for the jeep from Bolivia, while having breakfast: hot tea/coffee, banana, bread, bologna, cheese. Almost at 11:00, we and our bags piled onto the 2 jeeps and headed into Eduardo Avaroa national reserve. The park office isn't far. B150, B3 or C300 toilet.

Laguna Blanca ~11:25, borax. Quite pretty.

Laguna Verde ~11:00, copper, arsenic. 5900m volcano.
The so-called Dali valley ~12:45, ~20 boulders in the sand far from the road.
Lago Poques? ~1pm. Almost everyone soaked in the hot tub at the waterfront. I walked into the lake a bit on the white muddy bottom to take photos of the few flamingos. The water temperature quickly drops to normal.

~2:30 geyser fields. But nothing is sprouting. Elevation ~5000m here and around the natual jacuzzi.

Turn clock backwards for 1 hour for the proper Bolivia time. 1 hour later arrived at a refugio ~4360m high within 1km of Lago Colorado. At 3pm, lunch (sausage, mash potato, tomato, cucumber). 5pm, tea + crackers. 7pm, dinner (thin veggie soup, papa frita + onion + sausage). ~4pm, it started to rain and quickly turned into hail and snow. First snow for the 2 Portuguese girls, who were exited and taking photos. very soon they initialized making fire in the empty stove. 2 books, teabag covers, brochures, maps all burnt. No hot drink after dinner. All went to bed, I with all my clothes on. No light no heat. The 2 toilet and 1 sink was very busy for a while: 11 of us + 6 of another group.
Sandra read a trivia game with a flashlight, the rest 4 tried to answer from our bed. This lasted for an hour, during which, Afra threw up.

3/12 Monday. Cold.
Woke up in a white world. Foggy too. 7:30 breakfast2. Waited for the weather to clear up. By now both Scott and Sandra were sick, but Afra was back to normal.

9:00 start for Lago Colorado: rusty red, snow patches on the green grass at water's edge. Many flamingos. Absolutely beautiful. Dropping of vicuna. Still too cloudy to see the nearby mountain peaks. On a sunny day, this place must be stunningly colorful. We left ~10:00.

~10:30 The stone tree and a few others similar but not as dramatic, in the middle of sand desert. A strange toilet with 2 compartments.

~11:30 Laguna Honda. Lunch by the water. The 2 following lakes: Chearcota, Hedionda are so underwhelming, most of us didn't even got off the vehicle.

Valley of Rocks ~3:30pm. Good place to look for pee spot.

Overnight at Alota. B10 for hot shower. Electricity 7-9pm? Rained at times.

3/13 Tuesday. Salar de Uyuni
Don't understand why we had to get up so early. 6:00 breakfast with one candlelight. Left after 7:00. I didn't take a pill last night, figured that we were out of danger, now wasn't feeling so well. So kept up my drug.

Right outside of the town, there were some small fields now in bloom. At on point, the dirt road was so muddy that our jeep slipped. The land became flatter and boring as we went north.

~9:30 reached a train junk yard 2km shy of Uyuni. Trash too. It appears that all around the town of Uyuni is garbage, denser when closer to the town. Filled up another piece of paper at the agency's office. Waited for a short while for police' ok.

The giant salt flat is not far from the town. Parked on the inundated salt bed. With the water now, it looked more like a lake. Some flamingos. Reflection. Very pretty. Lunch: Milanese of chicken, pasta, boiled potato, cooked/canned carrot + green bean, watermelon. We stayed here for ~1.5 hours, taking silly optical illusion photos. But the reflection would ruin the effect.

Back to Uyuni ~2:30 after a shopping stop. Almost everything was closed, including immigration office, which I had to go later to fill up another form, and pay $135. They insisted on Boliviano first. After some pleading and inspection of my crispy new notes, they finally accepted my $. Changed my Chilean Pesos3, visited the post office, had a B18 coca beer with my group. They all decided to go to Sucre.

I waited for my 10:15pm train 4 to Tupiza. At the train station, I met a young couple from Britain, who was robbed by armed men in Ecuadorian Amazon region. Total 4 boats, 22 tourists. Of course, no one continued their trip, having to go back to town and file police report. Luckily, Ecuador government compensated them with a free trip to the Galapagos Islands.

2012/4/14-17 Tupiza, Potosi, Sucre
3/14 Wednesday. Overcast. Tupiza
The train stopped at Atocha ~midnight, the lady next to me got off. At least 2 unscheduled stops, each lasted over an hour, no explanation. Arrived at Tupiza ~7:30 instead of 4:00. Got to see some nice scenery along the track. Narrow valley, not much water in the riverbed. Green grass, red hills. Tupiza's bus and train stations are 5-10 minutes walk from the town center.

Bought a 3 hour horse ride trip5 to Puerta del Diable (had time to walk about), Valle de Los Machos (no stop), Canyon del Inca (a very narrow canyon with a small creek). This is my first and probably last horseback riding. I fell twice because my 3 year old horse wanted to eat grass under some branches at the hight of my chest.

Ate on the 2nd floor of the market. Took a shower at the hostel/agency. Too bad, not much hot water.

~4pm, I walked to the town of Palala. Just 10 minutes north of the tourist area, still in the city, it feels quite different: no more gringos. Women selling chicha, various stores catering to local population. Palala is 3km out of town along the train track most of the time, then walked left between two walls. Better setting here: much closer to the red cliffs. Took a frequent bus back to Tupiza for B1. The buses are recycled from other uses. One had Japanese Kanji of a central store of funeral equipment. Ate, napped for an hour in the travel agency/hostel's empty breakfast room before heading over to the bus terminal for my 9pm bus to Potosi. B30.

3/15 Thursday. 3-12°C, Potosí
Arrived at Potosi terminal ~3:30. Everything was closed including the terminal, even though 4 buses pulled in at about the same time. Cold. At 4:00, door opens, but washrooms are still closed until 6:00. B1. When it was light enough, I took a taxi to La Cosana6, booked a room, dumped my bags. The historical center has many fancy church facades with locked doors. Lots of colonial buildings. Silver money of the old days. Just 1.5 blocks away is the main plaza, another 3 blocks is the market, where I had all meals. ATM didn't charge me a fee. A few pained zebras on street crossings.

9:00 mine tour7 to the Rosario mine. An exhausting experience. Dusty and muddy. At least a third of the walk I had to bend if not on my knees. It's a working mine. Just like it was 400 years ago. Technology doesn't seem to have improved, while the ore has diminished. Now seems anyone who pays a use fee can come and dig. One guy we talked to worked here since late 70s. He said even in the early 80s he could find silver deposit of 80% purity. now only 3%. but still thousands work here every day. Whenever a cart is pushed by, we had to hurry up or back to a place with enough space to clear the way. Every time that happened, I had to rest for 5 minutes to catch breath. It's at ~4350m!

Back to hotel to shower the dust off. First hot shower in 5 days. Washed clothes. By the time I was ready to go out again, it was pouring. Rain continued to the early evening, when I headed out to eat. The town in street lights has a different charm. Read hostel's copy of Lonely Planet South America, an old version, and used the slow wifi, before retiring to my cold and damp room.

3/16 Friday. Cloudy with sun.
Casa de Moneda. B40. Guided tour only. Almost 2 hours. Not bad. I started with a Spanish guide, later switched to a private English tour. Mint history, hand tools, steam belts, electrical tools. Various coins, machines, lots of paintings by local artists in the 17-18th century. Now, Bolivia's coins and notes are made in at least 3 other countries.

1pm bus to Sucre. B15. B2 terminal use fee / departure tax. However the taxi to the new bus terminal cost B10 instead of B7 when I arrived. Low season, plenty seats left. ~3 hours, quite a scenic ride. However in and out of the cities are garbage dumps. Disgusting.

Sucre, the capital of Bolivia, in name only. The supreme court remains here, but the legislative seat is in La Paz. Vastly sprawling. Every hill close by is topped with houses and trash under it. Found a single room across street from the market entrance for B25. I couldn't believe my ears when she quote me the price. Well, I don't recommend it. At least it's easy to eat and buy fruit8. Market here is bigger, but closes (6pm) much earlier than in Potosi (8pm).

Basilica San Francisco has a complicated ceiling, ornate gilded altar piece. Cathedral is only open Thursday and Sunday morning for mass. However the religious museum next to the cathedral is open M-F, which you can get into the cathedral. The tourism office I found is on the second floor of a shopping complex. Now armed with a map, I walked to a few churches, none was open, other then the previously mentioned Basilica San Francisco, and Iglesia Santa Monica whose interior isn't interesting.

The main square Plaza 25 de Mayo is full of people. Manicured parterre. Very pleasant, surround by beautiful buildings.

3/17 Saturday. Cloudy - sunny. Sucre.
Museum of Libertad. B15 for foreigners. Guided tours in Spanish only. Low season, not enough tourists to merit an English guide. Used to be a Jesuit church. Later part of university Xavier. Independence was declared and signed here. Now a copy is in a glass case. Bergano's flag too, faded.

Noon (also 9:30, 14:30) to Cal Orck'o. Return at 2pm. I only saw one company Sauro Tours doing this in front of the cathedral: transportation B17 for foreigners. B12 for locals. Parque Cretacico is more for kids: models of various dinosaurs, copy of a giant skeleton, a kid only play room. B30 for foreigners, B5 for camera. To be honest, there us no nerd to pay either if you don't care to see the models. Just walk up the slope, stop in front of the ticket office. The platform here is good enough to see the prints on the wall across the ditch. When you are in the park, you have benches and telescope to view the same wall, and watch part of an American dinosaur documentary dubbed and subtitled in Spanish.

Back at the plaza, bought La Paz bus ticket for B150 at Joy Ride travel agency, who over charged me B15 and at the same time cost the bus company B25.

Bolivia Park next to the supreme court. The tiny Eiffel tower isn't worth climbing. I didn't even bother to take a single photo. Being Saturday, plenty people, lots of stalls selling cakes, jewelry, toys.

The cemetery west of town is an okay stop. Many people came and changes flowers. Water faucets every block. There are boys carry ladders for those slots high up. I saw an old woman in typical petty skirt peeing right by the main walkway, and partly on her own feet. Don't know who she was visiting. I bought a relleno (fried mash potato with an egg inside) outside of the cemetery gate, watching a funeral procession going in.

The best B10 I spent is for the rooftop of San Felipe de Nery. Enter via the school next door. The view is splendid. The white walls and towers. The interior of the church is plain, unlike its serious exterior.

Mico A to bus terminal: B1.5. It's just 2km. 7:30 cama bus to La Paz. B2.5 terminal use fee. Comfortable but old bus. Toilet has no water. Heat on high, thick blanket, no food or drink.

2012/4/18-20 around La Paz
3/18 Sunday. Overcast. Coroico
Arrived at La Paz ~7:30. nothing seems open. I walked to plaza San Francisco and beyond. All closed, not because it was too early,but because it was Sunday. Did see the Sunday mass at San Francisco, quite a nice stone interior. Back to the bus terminal trying to go to Coroico. But none of the long distance buses do that route. Had to catch a minibus to the suburb of Villa Fatima, then hop on another minibus to Coroico. Paid B25 and waited for the bus to fill up. Scenery during the first half of an hour outside the mannheim of the city is outstanding. Snow capped granite peaks, steep grassy slopes later become green, little waterfalls, a couple of clouds hung low on the other side of the precipice. Later, too foggy to see much. Coroico is on a green hill among green hills, but dry. Sunny and warm during the day, ~20° cool at night. Because it's a small town, and all this vegetation, the air is finally breathable.

Coroico town square has not much to offer, as any other small streets. It's all ups and downs. Just getting to the plaza from the bus station is tiring, even though it's close. Paid the first hostel I saw by the plaza. B70 gets me a single room with 3 small tables and 2 chairs, view of the green hills. The Hostel has no kitchen, no breakfast, no Internet, no English. Shouldn't be called a hostel. Its restaurant is closed. But it has a good size pool, a large deck. All rooms seem to have the same good view. Cheery and airy. I had lunch for B10 with a large bowl of soup, and chicken Milanese and salad over rice as the secondo. I skipped the raw ingredients, just in case. Instead, bought 3 small oranges for B1 and 3 Roma tomatoes for B1.5 to eat back in my room. Dinner on this Sunday was harder to find. Most shops were closed when I set out shortly after 6pm. Ate some fried chicken over corn and potatoes for B12. The guy on the next table got more and better chicken pieces than I did. Picked up a Pacena beer on the way back: B8.5.

A relaxing day. Did some washing, and my clothes dried quickly under the sun.

3/19 Monday. Sunny, warm. La Paz.
After a proper breakfast next door, headed down to the terminal. B1 fee. B15 in a 14 seater. Luggage on top. I was #13, so didn't wait too long. Back to Villa Fatima ~12. Caught a bus to Plaza San Francisco, dumped my bag at the first lodging I asked (up 2 flights of stairs), B30+B5 for shower. It's difficult to catch a bus to the cemetery. ~10 went by fully loaded. Cemetery is another bus center. Unfortunately, I was told that Tiwanaku bus only leaves in the morning. Defeated, I ate lunch, and wait for a bus back. Not having a map or knowing the area, I waited for a long time (many other buses also go to or close to where I wanted, but I couldn't tell unless it's written on the bus). Got off at Plaza Murillo. A small square. Lots of pigeons, and lots of kids feeding them. Legislative building occupies a whole side, next is the president's home (in the same bright yellow) and the Cathedral (nice stainless windows, cold). Next door, Museum if Arts was closed on Mondays.

Walked to Plaza San Francisco (the buses probably would be slower, due to the constant congestion. Today, there was also some demonstration, a few roads were blocked), checked out market Lanzo, and the endless street vendors. Bought a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice for B3, some fruit and soy milk. Temperature dropped quickly after sun down.

3/20 Tuesday. To Copacabana.
Tried again for Tiwanaku, a pre Inca ruin, and failed. Roads were blocked. Nothing could get in or out of the city. Waited in the bus for over 2 hours, and abandoned the trip. Had to pay the poor driver and then walked downhill to catch another bus back to the cemetery. All other ~10 passengers stayed on. Back to the 2-Febrero office where I left my backpack. They were playing cards, since their bus couldn't go out either. But they claimed that the 3pm bus to Copacabana will go without problem. Not even 11:00 yet. Used an Internet cafe (B2/hr) for 1.5 hours. No wifi that I can find. Google's Blogger refused to log me in. Lots of public toilets here: B1. Lots of venders and lunch places. A 600ml bottle of water is B3.5. A set lunch consists of a small bread, spicy dipping sauce (I never tried), a big bowl of soup (rice or pasta, a piece of meat on bone, a potato, sprinkled with cilantro), secondo is either chicken or steak on rice or corn (usually too salty, and cooked to death) and diced tomato and lettuce or onion, desert is usually jello. I always liked the soup. By the time I finished lunch, there were at least a dozen kids and their backpacks congregated on the floor outside of the bus office, and people in the office were watching news, and told me maybe or may not be able to leave at 6pm. I picked up my bag, and ready to find a place to crash for tonight. Just at this time a bus pulled in. They left at 8:30 and managed to circumvent the blockades for an extra hour. Needless to say, I and everyone else eagerly signed up on this 6 de Junio bus. Smaller, no overhead bins, all luggage on top, more expensive: B25. 2 got on without seats.

The road to Copacabana is reasonably scenic after getting out of the city and on to the grassy plateau. Distant snow capped mountains. Half of the journey is along Lake Titicaca. In the town of Tiquina, we had to get on a ferry, or rather a wooden pontoon. Out of the ~50 on the shore, we managed to get on one with a slight motor problem. Most passengers got off the bus to take a yacht cross. I, understanding nothing, stayed on the bus with 2 other people.

Arrived at Copacabana ~5:15, 4 hours. Paid for 2 nights at 2 different places. The first is cheap. B20! The owner of a small store eagerly showed me the rooms upstairs. Shared toilet. But turned out I was the only one stayed here. The second one looks and is much nicer. Colonial. B50 got me a room with 2 beds and ensuite bath + good breakfast. It's airy and sunny. If it were not for my flights next Wednesday, I'd be happy to stay here for a couple more days. It's small enough that car exhaust is not a problem. It's pretty here and there are a few simple ruins within walking distance.

Bought boat ticket to the Sun and Moon islands for tomorrow. Ran into Sandra in front of Colonial. She and Mark were just about to depart for Cusco. There was a blockage here too! A different bus had to be arranged on the other side of the blockage. They had to walk with their luggage across to the other bus. After saying goodbye to them, I had lake trout for dinner, contemplating when to go to Puno, and what to do there. Too many options. Too many operators.

3/21. Wednesday. Clouds. Lake Titicaca.
Crudely fashioned double deck boat. 3 were sailing today at 8:30. Lots of boats moored at the beach for busier season. There are reed made boats, big catamarans (can cross the lake to Peru). Lake looks pretty clean. Huge. Enough waves to drive me to downstairs. At 10:00, dropped half of the passengers at the north side of Isla del Sol, Challapampa. This maybe a better option than going to Isla de la Luna. Because, the sacred Inca sites are on the northern tip (Rock of the Puma, or Titi Kharka, and Inca Table). It leaves enough time to walk to the south end (4 hours) to catch the boat back to town.

Landed on Isla de la Luna ~10:50. It's a very small island, easy to walk from one end to the other. About 5 houses next to the small harbor, and one big, out of place house on the top. The other side has a harbor and a few boats, some fishing contrapment too. B10 to enter. Inak Uyu (temple of the virgins) is fenced in, a few sheep were tied to the fence. A ruin with flowers growing in the stones, but the center lawn was recently mowed. A few ladies sell necklaces made if decorated pebbles, little llama, almost all useless. I walked to the top and continued right on the ridge long enough to be alone. My morning coca tea needed a place to go. Lots of sheep, a couple of llamas. 12:30 depart.

Isla del Sol is much bigger. To walk the length, needs ~4 hours. We landed at the south end, Yumani, ~1:25pm. Half of the passenger stayed at the small port for lunch. I walked up Inca Stairs along the Inca Spring. It looks clean. I tasted a bit of the spring water close to the top end. All along, women and kids sell trinkets and alpaca products. There are quite a few llama and donkey here. No alpaca. I continued up trying to get to Temple Pilcocaina. Unfortunately, took a wrong turn (should turn left). By the time I was on the correct trail, I was short of time. But I did walked far enough to see the ruin. It should be about 3km one way. Quite a few accommodation and restaurant choices. Some high up on the hill. But I don't see the appeal of staying overnight here. I would feel guilty to take a shower or flush toilet. Everything, especially water has to be carried up. If you want to contribute to the local Amayan people, buy stuff from them, or stay lower. Prices here is of course higher than on the mainland. Example: a 500ml bottle coke is B10, beer B15. The island is almost entirely terraced, but not all cultivated. I did see twice men working in the fields. Back on the boat, met 4 people who walked here from the north. The north has the sanctuary where Inca god was born. My short walks (1.5 hours on each island) were scenic, but gets redundant quickly. Even though the temperature was very pleasant, ~17° I sweat quickly: there isn't a single tree taller than my chest. Only bushes or grass. Very dry here. 3:30pm depart.

~1 hour later, stopped for 10 minutes at 2 tiny floating squares, permanently attached to land by walkways. On the returning boat, met Afra and Scott who spent 2 nights on the island and loved it. Back in town ~5:25pm.

Cerro Calvarlo can be seen from the town of Copacabana. After saying goodbye to Afra and Scott who were heading to Arequipa, I walked the short but steep trail up north in time for sunset. Took me 40 minutes from the hotel up, huffing and puffing all the way, and 20 minutes down. I'm not made for this altitude. The view is splendid. This is a pilgrim trail for the Virgin of Copacabana. People bring flowers, a cross at every turn, some laden with pebbles. On the top, more plaques, candles. Despite of being a sacred trail, litter and graffiti is everywhere. Even the trash cans are covered with markings.

Finally found a wifi spot, where I can upload this blog. Had trout here. Restaurant Alex Pacho's set menu is a good deal. B20. Bought a sweater for B85.

3/22. Thursday. To Peru.
Checked out the famous cathedral. No photo is allowed inside. Beautiful building and carved doors. Adorned and gilded alter. The virgin is behind a veil.

9:00 bus to Peru. B30. Doesn't matter who you bought tickets from, only one bus was going. 15 minutes late depart trying to sign up more passengers.

Notes